The Impact of Openly Gay Athletes by @ChrisRBarron

When the news broke on Sunday night that Missouri DE Michael
Sam had publicly acknowledged that he was gay - likely making him the first out
active major sport athlete - I was riding in a rented van with a group of my
teammates on our way home from a pond hockey tournament in Maine.When I saw the news I immediately shared it
with my teammates without giving it a second thought.I didn't worry about what they would think
about it because I already knew first hand that they would be cool with an out
teammate.

In that moment I was reminded about how powerful being out
in sports can be - even to lowly rec leaguers like me and it has inspired me to
re-post this piece I wrote for Pens Initiative after NBA-er Jason Collins came
out.

Some of you out there may not think that moments like this
matter, may not understand why they matter, or may not be able to comprehend
how importat they are to some of us - but trust me when I tell you it matters.

So here it is, just as relevant then as it is now:

WHY JASON COLLINS MATTERS TO THIS PENS FAN BY @CHRISRBARRON

So I didn’t start out planning to write about Jason Collins
this week for Pens Initiative. I had planned on writing on Ray Shero, but
sometimes things happen in the world and intervene – and this week, for me,
Jason Collins is what happened. My Ray Shero post can wait, this one
cannot.

I admit that I care very little about the NBA. As far
as the big 4 sports go, it is firmly in the 4 spot in my house. But today, I am
a huge Jason Collins fan.

By announcing that he was gay, Collins became the first male
athlete currently playing in any of the big 4 sports to be openly gay.
Others have come out, but it has always been after their playing careers ended.

Most of the reaction to Collins announcement has been
positive, some has been negative, and some have wondered why it even
matters. To those who have reacted supportively – thank you. To
those who wonder why it even matters, let me tell you why it matters. As
a 39 year old sports nut, who happens to be gay, this Collins announcement
matters more than some may ever know.

I have always loved sports, sports has been a unifier in my
family. Growing up my dad and I didn’t always see eye to eye, and often I
felt like we had very little in common – but we always had sports. I
often struggled to find things to talk to my dad about, and I know he struggled
to find things to talk to me about, but bring up sports and we could talk for
hours.

Growing up and knowing you are gay – something I knew but
didn’t admit to the world from the time I was very young – brings with it an
immediate feeling of being an outsider. Of feeling like you didn’t
belong, that you couldn’t belong, because you were different. Sports and
being a fan of sports made me feel like I belonged to something. Sports
are the great unifier. As Pens fans we aren’t black or white or male or
female or rich or poor we are just Pens fans. It’s like a giant family.

But I still felt like the outsider – even when it came to
sports. There were no out gay sports figures, no one helping to smash the
ridiculous stereotype of what gay people are like. The message that sent to gay
sports fans everywhere was that we were still the outsiders. That we
still didn’t belong.

All that changed yesterday. It doesn’t matter that
Jason Collins is a journeyman center at the end of his career, what matters is
that he was first. Hearing so much support for Collins from sports
reporters, from other pro players, and from other fans made me – and I suspect
many gay sports fans – feel less like outsiders and more like a welcome part of
the sports family.

Collins announcement didn’t just have an impact on gay sports
fans; it obviously had one on gay players. Jason Collins’ announcement
will make the next guys decision to be open and honest with his teammates and
the fans infinitely easier.

This year, at 39, I decided to play rec league hockey.
As someone who loves hockey, I thought it was time I laced up the skates and
gave it a shot while I was still young enough (relatively) to do it. I
joined a team with 20 other folks, who I didn’t know and who didn’t know
me. Like any team we sit around the locker room after practices and games
and talk – about our lives, our families, etc. The first time I mentioned
my partner Shawn, I felt awkward. Even as a 39 year old, who has been out
since I was 21, I was nervous to tell my teammates that I was gay. I
can’t imagine how Jason Collins must have felt.

But thanks to Jason Collins, it will be easier for the next
guy who tells his teammates the truth about who he is – and it will be easier
for all gay athletes to be open and honest from rec leagues to major leagues.

The NHL has been on the leading edge of acceptance of gay
athletes and gay fans. The "You Can Play Project" has been a
ground-breaking effort. I have no doubt that one day soon, the NHL will have an
openly gay player - and I have no doubt that NHL owners, players and fans will
embrace that moment.

I get that for many straight sports fans the Jason Collins
announcement may have seemed like much to do about nothing. But for me,
and for many other gay people, the announcement was an historic moment.

I can't wait for the day that someone's sexual orientation
is completely irrelevant in sports, until the day that someone announcing they
were gay really is a non-story.